Hope For The Community is a new but fast-growing organization that began in January 2022.

In 2005, Rev. John Ring came to Bluffton looking to "reach people the church tends to miss" through ministry outside the normal bounds of the church. He sought to find a need and address it. God had other plans.

John, who is ordained by the Evangelical Church Alliance and holds an honorary doctorate degree from North Central Theological Seminary, felt the call of God through Grace Coastal Church and Rev. Bob Bates, who asked him to bring the ministry plan to the church instead of building a new organization. It was an answer to prayer after a rough start. For the next five years, GCC and John saw great things happen. The free counseling ministry took off like wildfire. With the encouragement of the Beaufort Alliance of Human Services, Re-employment Classes began in 2007, and Family Promise of Beaufort County came into being with Grace Coastal leading the way.

Let's fast forward to October 2021. The pandemic wreaked havoc on the local church and exposed the need to go out into the community instead of expecting the community to come to the church. Grace Coastal Church's elders again asked John to go out into the community. After much prayer and counsel, "Hope for the Community" was born.

2022 was a year of growth at lightning speed. Seed money was given to start the Community Care Fund. While working with partner churches and organizations, we hope to once again be active in the Beaufort Alliance of Human Services.

Two of the initiatives are the heart of John Ring, the director. He began a unique program called the Community Chaplain Network. By training, certifying, and overseeing men and women, the network aims to have at least a male and female chaplain available in every neighborhood in the area. It takes time, but John has already conducted five training sessions, equipping Chaplains who are already highly active in the Beaufort county area and beyond.

The second initiative is also very close to his heart. It is the Single Parent Mentorship Alliance. Mentoring single parents and engaging the children of the fastest-growing subgroup of our culture is necessary to have hope for physical, mental, and spiritual stability. This unique mentorship structure seeks partner churches and organizations to provide volunteers to assist this often neglected group.

It is an exciting time as we grow and develop these different services. Join us with your volunteerism through financial assistance and, of course, your prayers.

We need to "give water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the needy, take care of the sick, invite the stranger in and visit the imprisoned," physically, mentally, and spiritually. Sign up today for regular email updates by using the email contact form.

Thank you for investigating this new endeavor, reaching those the church tends to miss, Hope For The Community.